Historic, good for federalism, says Kapil Sibal on SC setting timeline for governors to act on bills
New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI): Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday hailed the Supreme Court for setting a timeline for governors to act on bills passed by state assemblies and said it is a "historic" verdict "good for federalism" as it defines the role of governors.
In a major victory to DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court last Tuesday cleared 10 bills that were stalled and reserved by Governor R N Ravi for President's consideration.
The court also set a timeline for governors to act on bills passed by state assemblies.
Hailing the ruling at a press conference here on Saturday, Sibal said this ensures that the federal structure will move forward under principles of the Constitution.
The ruling also defines the governor's role, Sibal said.
"The Supreme Court has recently pronounced a historic judgement. It is in discussion because ever since the BJP government came to power (at the Centre), the governors have started acting arbitrarily. Whenever a bill is passed and the Governor's signature is required, the Governor would keep the bill at his end and delay it. They would not sign, hence the notification would not happen. People would suffer," the senior advocate said.
This used to happen in states where a party other than the ruling party at the Centre would be in power, and hence it was political, he said.
"We had been talking about this for years. I have been saying that it is against the federal structure. The leaders of the Centre tried to bring instability -- it was seen in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and many other places. Not only Governors, the Speakers would also act arbitrarily in Assembly. Now the Supreme Court has ordered against this practice," Sibal said.
"Now the Supreme Court has decided a three-month time frame to send the bill back. When the bill is passed again, the Governor would be required to sign it within a month. The Attorney General opposed this saying a time frame cannot be mandated for Governors, but the Supreme Court denied it...
"The Governor would have the discretion to send the bill to the President, but the President would also have to follow the time frame," Sibal said, adding, "This is good for federalism."
In a first-of-its-kind direction, the top court on Tuesday fixed a timeline within which the Governor has to act on bills passed by the state legislature.
The apex court said there was no expressly specified time limit for the discharge of functions by Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution.
"Despite there being no prescribed time limits, Article 200 cannot be read in a manner which allows the Governor to not act on the bills presented to him for assent and thereby delay, and essentially roadblock law-making machinery in the state," it has said.
Fixing the timeline, the bench said in case of withholding assent on a bill and reserving it for the President with the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the maximum period would be one month.
In case the Governor decides to withhold assent without the aid and advice of the council of ministers, the bills must be returned to the assembly within three months, it added.
The top court said if the state assembly presents the bill after reconsideration, it has to be given assent by the Governor within a period of one month.
The bench cautioned that any failure to comply with the timeline would make the Governor's inaction subject to judicial review by the courts.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
